Snow and play

Even though we have so much work going on here, we still make room for fun!  Life would be so boring if we didn't.  With 5 kiddos, we have lots of opportunities to enjoy what God has blessed us with.  Namely, each other! 

A beautiful, snowy morning!

Levi had no problem enjoying it.

The kids were up and outside by 8 on a Saturday morning.

Asher wanted to include Micah in the fun.

Bowls of snow!

 

 

A few days later we are back to warm!  Daddy loves when the babies wear overalls. 

Baby didn't mind it at all. 
(Yes, she is used to cameras of all kind in her face.)

Micah loves her puppy Fuzz.

Zaddok is a great big brother,  So sweet and tender.

January's plans.

The first few weeks in January are always my blog book time.  This year was super easy!  I used Blog 2 Print and it formatted the book just like my blog.  The pictures aren't was big as I wanted them to be but it saved me 2 weeks (or more!) of work.  It is expensive to do but it is a year's worth of photos.  If I was printing them and scrap booking I think I would spend much more.  I encourage you to try it.  Even if you don't blog, you can do photo books with captions.  It is really a neat way to document the years.

 

Looking forward, we have sooooooooo much to do!  There are many things we have on our list to get done before the weather changes and we move outdoors.  Some of our list is reasonable.  Some of it will get bumped to next year's list. 

 

We have started inside the house with some texture and painting.  There are many rooms in our house that needed that extra smoothing on the walls before getting a fresh coat of paint.  Old houses have nails that will start bulging out of the sheet rock or wallpaper that just needs updating.  Take this for example...

Some of this came off very easily.  This wouldn't budge.

 

 

This is what we are calling our book nook.  When it is finished, it will have new paint, a cozy chair, lamp, and shelves full of books for our kiddos to get lost in!

 

The boy's room is awesome!  It's plenty big for the 3 boys and all of their stuff.  We have a pretty good vision of what we want it to look like.  So Matt started to texture.

 



It's just a thin layer.  Enough to cover some imperfections in the wall and give it some interest.  See that bead-board?  We decided to take it down.  It was only on one wall and didn't really fit. 



 

This is what all of our faces looked like when we removed it.

 

Matt had some repair work to do.  Luckily there was drywall and tape in the barn.

 

There were 2 holes to patch and more mud to apply.  Much to do!!  Soon, painting!

 

Last blog of 2012.

It's been 10 years since we spent Christmas Day with my husband's family.  We usually switch years with my family and his but we always have Christmas Eve and morning in our own home.  This year we traveled to Ft. Worth, Texas for a cousin holiday.  We have 12 kids all together.  It's a bunch of little people.  (Some are not so little anymore.) 

 

We had so much fun.  Nothing fancy.  Just time together, cooking meals with the girls, playing games, talking, singing and telling those kids to be quiet!!  We really didn't see much of them.  They all found their group and stayed busy.

 

It was a very merry time.  So blessed with families who love each other.  It makes time together so special. 

 

This is the oldest cousin Ethan with the almost youngest cousin Levi.  Levi thinks Ethan is pretty special.

It was definitely a house full.  But we all seemed to fit just right.

On Christmas Eve, Uncle Brad read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  It was pretty sweet.

Cody, "The Fonz" and Kyle.

Micah got to be a little (chubby) girl reindeer.

There were some Just Dance competitions going on.

Ever played Minecraft?  It's a little boy's dream.  Building and creating then destroying.

Caught you Kyle!  Bust a move.

How that girl loves her Daddy.

Asher needed some space the second night we were there.  I told him he could move into the other room and sleep under the tree.  So he did.  Literally!

As 2012 fades out and 2013 dawns, I pray peace and blessing for you all.  We here on the Prairie look forward to new things.  New gardens, new animals, new paint, new adventures.  We will bring you along with us as we go. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you.  May he make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.  May the Lord grant you peace. 

Just pictures. No time for words. :(

 

 

 

 

What an egg should look like.

Most people seem confused as to why we would have chickens when eggs are so cheap at the store.  I always tell them that chickens are easier to keep than a dog, they make less mess, they eat bugs, they are very entertaining and they give you beautiful, delicious, healthy eggs. 

 

The eggs you buy in the store are just so-so.  The pale yellow yolk shows the lack of variety of diet and access to greens.  Most commercial eggs are produced by over-worked chickens who spend their lives indoors under artificial light.  They are crowed into small spaces and only have processed food in their diets. 

 

If you buy free-ranged chicken eggs, you pay a lot more money and still aren't guaranteed that you would get the benefit of true free-ranging. 

 

Our girls are happy as they can be.  I don't even have to supplement their food right now.  Everything they eat comes from the ground.  They are laying giant eggs with great hard shells.  And the taste is like nothing else! 

 

This is one of our eggs cracked into a bowl of cheese that I use in a baked pasta dish.  See the color?  ORANGE! 

 

 

 Here is a link to Mother Earth News that shows the actual benefits of fresh, free-ranged eggs.

 

 

On another note, my blog friend Kendra, at New Life on a Homestead, is doing a giveaway.  So head over to her site and leave a comment about the book she is giving away, Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden.  Looks like a great addition to a homesteader's collection. 

 

 

Oh yeah and this too...

 

Hee hee.  Micah B is 7 months old now! 

 

A day for thanks...

Whose bright idea was it to host Thanksgiving in her home just a month after moving in???  Oh, that would be me.  And it was a bright idea.  It gave us major motivation to unpack boxes and get some stuff hung on the walls. 

We would have been in trouble has it not been for the family all pitching in to make Thanksgiving Day so easy and fun.  Everyone brought something for the meal.  Then everyone helped clean up.  That's the worst part!  (A special thanks to my pregnant sister who worked harder than anyone to help get everything ready.  Heather, you are an amazing mama and sister.  I am so thankful to have you in my life!)

We had 20 of our nearest and dearest share our home for the day.  God blessed us with perfect weather so we were able to sit on the porch some.  The guys, and my baby sister, shot some skeet.  The kids ran everywhere!  And the ladies got to just sit and enjoy each other's company. 

Blessed I tell you.  Blessed beyond measure.   

Ava Grace and Micah B.

Papa Joe and Halie Kate!

Up to no good.

See.  Cousins can always find trouble.

You take my breath away beautiful girl!

Grandma giving Ava some love and wisdom.

I could eat you little butterball.

My sister and mom putting the finishing touches on dinner.

As we gather round to pray...

we give thanks for one another...

we squeeze each other tighter because we know how blessed we are.



My mama and sister.  So stinkin' cute.

You too mister.  How did you get so cute?  Must have a cute mom.  :)

 

 

Sisters in every color.  We planned it that way.

 

 

Grandma and Pa joined us.  We loved having them!!

Papa and Grandma were there too.

A rather precious picture of Pam and Daniel.

Not sure about these two crazies.

Papa Joe on baby duty.  He and Micah have a delicate relationship.  As in, sometimes Papa is hilarious and sometimes he is scary.

Liv needed a buddy to bounce her.  Nana took on the challenge.

Beautiful Nana.

Sweet baby Liv.

 

Oh daughter, why must you grow so.  I guess I'm even thankful for that.